Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 105: Mastering Client Acquisition: Strategically Land Your Ideal Consulting Clients

Transcript

Episode 105: Mastering Client Acquisition: Strategically Land Your Ideal Consulting Clients · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: If you're interested in attracting more consulting clients for your business, then you're in the right place, because today we're going to talk about how you can attract the right clients to your front door.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: It's all about creating a client acquisition system.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: So if you want to learn more, keep tuning in.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: They say the odds are stacked against us as women, especially women of color, trying to thrive in the consulting world.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: But rather than wait for a seat at the table that may never come, what if we build our own tables?
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: What if we channeled our talents into guiding each other towards the success we deserve?
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Black Girls Consulting Podcast.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Andrewina Davis, and I've walked the path from healthcare consultant to a mentor.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: For women like you, ambitious, unstoppable and ready to make waves in the consulting world, this podcast is your go-to spot for all things entrepreneurial consulting.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: For us as women, especially women of color, think of it as your weekly coffee date with a friend who's here to dish out real talk on building a solid business, elevating your thought leadership and mastering that all important mindset.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: And let's not forget we're doing all of this while balancing day jobs, family life and running teams.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Yes, we can do it all.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: So if you're ready to dive into how you can grow a thriving consultancy, or get strategies and insights that actually fit your busy lifestyle, then you're in the right place.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Grab your coffee, tea or, hey, even a glass of wine, I won't judge and let's get started.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Hi, my name is Dr Angelina Davis and I'm the host of the Black Girls Consulting Podcast.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: If it's your first time tuning in, welcome, welcome, welcome.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: And if you have been tuning in for episodes before, then welcome back.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Today, we're going to be talking about client acquisition systems, and one of the reasons why I wanted to have this conversation is because, when we're talking about growing our consulting businesses, one of the things that we are focused heavily on is attracting more clients, gaining more leads, increasing demand.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Those are all the things that are going to go hand in hand with you being able to grow a profitable business over time.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: So in order for us to do that, I think we first have to understand exactly why client acquisition is important.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Traditionally, we think about client acquisition as endlessly networking, or maybe attending a lot of conferences to meet new people and to gain new contacts, or co-calling.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: That's another way that many of us have attracted leads or clients over time.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Now, it's not that these methods do not work.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: However, they are often not optimal when used alone.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Actually, what we are beginning to see, especially in the B2B space, is that client acquisition is expanding from those more traditional methods into the digital space.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: So when we think about attracting and landing more clients, we also have to consider how we're showing up online.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Your ability to market your business, to expand and spread your thought leadership in the digital space is going to be key to you building the level of credibility that you need in order to drive your business forward.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Now, when we think about client acquisition from this standpoint, we can better understand how we need to show up and what we need to do in order to attract the clients that we want to serve.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: And the beauty of building a system in order to do this is that number one is repeatable, meaning that you have the same process that you can implement over and over again.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: You can continue to iterate it and to improve upon it so that you have better success over time.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: The second is that many of the steps you're able to automate by using automations in workflows, and even if you get to the point of outsourcing help, you can simplify the process for yourself, opening you up to be able to spend that time on the things that you truly love to do, instead of spending so much time online or marketing or even in sales.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: And also when you have a system in place, studies have shown that over time, you can increase your revenue generation by upwards of 120%, because now you have a formula and a method and a process in order to walk clients from the point of finding you and being attracted to your business to then becoming a client of yours once you convert them through sales.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: So overall client acquisition works in your favor.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: When it comes to developing a successful client acquisition strategy, there are five key steps that I want us to consider.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: The first is effective positioning.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: This is aligning your services with client priorities.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: One of the biggest mistakes that I often see many consultants making is misunderstanding their client's top priorities.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Often, what may be pitched as a service or an idea is not in alignment with the goal or the focus of that particular organization or the mindset that the client is in, and when there is that disconnect, it's going to be very difficult for you to convince them that they need your services or that they need your guidance and your help.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: So one of the first things that we have to do is consider how we are positioning ourselves in the market and making sure that the services that we offer tie directly to the desired outcome or future state that the client wants.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: As a result, when we have that alignment, then the positioning is going to be much more effective in terms of attracting clients that truly are going to desire to work with us and that are going to be eager to tune into what we have to share.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: So one of the first things is to align our services with the client priority.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Now, the second aspect that you want to make sure is in place is targeted outreach.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Targeted outreach is important because if you are focused on positioning yourself as a solution for your ideal client, then you want to ensure that you are targeting them and speaking to them more directly.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: By being broad and being very vague in communication, it's going to make it very difficult for you to have a message that truly resonates with the client that you want to work with.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: It's very important for us to think about how we are creating the content that we're using online, how we are showing up in spaces online, such as LinkedIn and other platforms, and what we are doing to be more visible in terms of our thought leadership, as well as our ideas and the work that we are continuing to generate.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: We want to make sure that whatever we're putting out is in alignment with our business as well as the priorities and the needs of the clients that we want to serve, so that targeted outreach is going to help us to focus in on who we want to reach, as well as holding our message, so that what we're communicating is going to speak to them in a way that others cannot.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: The next thing is that we want a quality lead generation system In order for us to attract leads that are going to be qualified for the services that we offer and they're going to be in alignment with what we have as a goal or a mission for our business.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: We have to understand how we attract them is going to be key.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: There are many times that we can schedule various lead generation efforts, such as webinars or other programming that is a misfit or misalignment with the type of client that we want to reach.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: If that is a client that is very busy during the day and they have a lot of meetings, that they're always on the go, then having something that is scheduled at noon time and is going to be drawn out for an hour or two may not fit their schedule and may not be the optimal way for you to attract that particular client.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: We want to understand how we can best fit into their current life and lifestyle.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: By understanding the client journey, having out what their day looks like, from the time that they wake up to the time that they lay down, it's going to be much easier for us to figure out where we can actually fit in.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: And that is going to be the most helpful part of creating your lead generation strategy, because, as they are navigating their problem and they're thinking about a solution, they may be googling online.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: How can you show up in their Google search?
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: They may be seeking some type of educational program that they can watch at night.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: How can you have scheduling that's going to fit into their lifestyle?
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: Maybe they want more detailed information that they can grab and read on the go.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: And then your white paper or your thought leadership article is going to be key.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: When we understand how our clients are using this information, it makes it a lot easier to create a lead generation system, or lead generator, aka lead magnet that is going to be something that attracts them in and that they are going to be thankful for receiving because it meets their needs and their lifestyle.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: This is very important when we're thinking about our client acquisition system.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: We can create things that are going to be no-brainers for the clients that we want to serve, and that's going to serve you best as a tool for attraction and drawing more people in.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: The next is that we want to have a reliable traffic source.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Many people make the mistake of having nonexistent or inconsistent traffic and trying to convert.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: So instead of us starting with a blog on our own site where maybe we are checking in, maybe our mom and maybe our best friend, we want to find a source of traffic that is going to allow us to connect with others more frequently and more consistently.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: For many who are working in the B2B space, that may be showing up consistently only then for others who may prefer platforms like Instagram or maybe even Facebook, youtube or a podcast.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Those are all ways that you can get into the client's pathway and take advantage of the traffic that is being generated from these various platforms, and so this is where understanding how and why you're using the platform is important.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: When you're using the platform as a source of traffic generation, then you know how to show up in it more effectively and, instead of focusing on growth and say that any metrics such as likes or even even follows then you're going to know that if you can get your content in the right traffic source, that, as long as this is engaging and as long as it's something that's going to draw attention, it's going to be helpful, it's going to be beneficial for you, it's going to draw in the right clients and the right people to your business.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: So being able to have this predictable flow of traffic is also going to help you create a predictable flow of leads.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: When you pair your lead generation process and strategy with the traffic system, having those two hand in hand allows you to create this flow of leads that can potentially lead to a flow of clients consistently.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: And the last thing is that we want to establish demand.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: We want a brand that allows people to recognize who we are when we show up online, when we're communicating through various platforms or written work.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: We want people to recognize that we are a go to leader in our space.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: In order for us to do that, we have to be consistent in our approach and how we're showing up online.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: And when I say consistent, I don't mean that you have to show up on a given platform every day, that you have to publish 10 articles a week.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: No, you just want to create a cadence that you can stick with, that becomes recognizable by the clients and the target audience that you want to serve, and they are going to tune in and await everything that you offer, because now they know that you are showing up consistently with a consistent message and that awareness of your brand is going to help them trust you more and more.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: And it's that trust that you're building that is going to help the conversion process to become easier and easier over time, because they can trust that you're going to show up for them, just as you're showing up for yourself.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: And when you're able to walk through these processes and establish these systems, it's going to make attracting the clients that you really want to work with a lot easier.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: But it does take time.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: A lot of what's built into this entire process is nurturing the clients that you want to work with, being able to get to know them, then get to know you, and for you to be able to show them how you can help and showcase your expertise.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: Every bit of this process is planned to highlight your strengths and to work to your benefit, but when it's all put together, it will be an asset that you can generate revenue from for years and decades to come.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: So if you're interested in diving deeper into building a client acquisition system, I'll be offering a eight week sprint.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: That is a very forward thinking way of approaching the client acquisition strategy and building a process and a system that truly works for you.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: If you're interested, there's a link in the description, but if you're going to go ahead and jump full force into building the system for yourself, then you now have all the information that you need to put all these pieces together.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: All right, I hope you enjoyed this episode and take time to build your client acquisition process, because it's going to help you be a more effective consultant and one that builds a business that lasts and lasts and lasts.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: All right, take care, guys.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: See you later.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: Bye.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave your review on Apple podcasts, subscribe and share it with a friend.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting, and you can help us do just that Also, I'd love to hear from you.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: So let's connect at Dr Angelina Davis on Instagram or LinkedIn, and don't forget to visit excelaconsultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Until next time, keep breaking glass silly, all right, take care.